Another advantage of manual transmission. I have been putting the gear selector in the neutral position quite a bit lately, or at the very least, driving in 5th when 4th or even 3rd is the normal gear. Then again at any speed for me it's a matter of pushing in the clutch selecting the gear i want/need and pressing the accelerator to the necessary RPM before I let out the clutch.
I know I have shifted other automatics into neutral while going 55+ and just waited until I could feel the deceleration of the transmission being engaged before I pressed the gas, let the car settle itself into the gear. I haven't driven an automatic aveo, so I don't know. If it was going to be hard on the car, i would think you could feel it.